Maiden journey for Silk Road passenger train

6/29/2011

A passenger train linking several key cities along western China’s ancient Silk Road has commenced services. According to a Xinhua report, the inaugural service on the 2,073km Kashgar-Hotan railway commenced yesterday in the far northwestern region of Xinjiang. The train will travel daily from Hotan in southern Xinjiang to Kashgar in the far west, close to the borders with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, before linking to the regional capital, Urumqi. The journey takes approximately 35 hours. Railway authorities said the new services would help boost Xinjiang’s mining, tourism and agriculture industries.